Consumer tissue products such as facial tissue, bath tissue and paper wipers are generally used to absorb liquids and fluids. Such paper products are predominantly formed of cellulosic papermaking fibers by manufacturing techniques designed specifically to produce several important properties. For example, the products should have good bulk, a soft feel, and should be highly absorbent. Further, the products should also have a pleasant aesthetic appearance and should be resilient against delamination in the environment in which they are used.
In the past, many attempts have been made to enhance certain physical properties of such products. For instance, to enhance the aesthetic appearance, a decorative paper product has been created by embossing a pattern onto one or both sides of the paper web during manufacturing. This standard mechanical embossing resulted in the deformation or breaking of fibers in an attempt to physically press the pattern into the web. In some applications, the resulting embossed patterns were not well-defined and faded as the paper product aged. Also, embossing patterns into tissue webs typically reduces the strength of the web.
Further, a variety of approaches have been employed over the years in an attempt to improve the bonding properties between multiple plies of paper products. One approach includes applying an adhesive between the plies before passing the paper web through a nip under pressure. Another approach includes using paper plies having different creping characteristics to form a bonded paper product with fiber entanglement. Although these processes provide suitable multi-ply paper products, the processes that apply conventional adhesives in between the webs typically require relatively high process costs since the lamination process has relatively low rates of operation.
In view of the above, a need currently exists for an improved embossed tissue product. Also, a need exists for an improved process for laminating two or more tissue webs together.